Michael E. Shepherd — Rural Pain, Republican Gain: How the Republican Party Is Killing Rural America and Why Democrats Are Blamed (Chicago Studies in American Politics) - with Marcia Brown — at Conn Ave
On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C. will host Michael E. Shepherd for an evening based on his book *Rural Pain, Republican Gain: How the Republican Party Is Killing Rural America and Why Democrats Are Blamed*, published in the Chicago Studies in American Politics series. Shepherd will be joined in conversation by Marcia Brown, a POLITICO reporter. The discussion centers on the book’s argument that Republican policies have worsened health outcomes in rural communities while rural white voters have increasingly supported the party, often misassigning blame to Democrats rather than Republicans.
The book draws on research into the opioid epidemic, hospital closures, and COVID-19 to show how Republican policymaking at the federal and state levels has disproportionately harmed rural areas. It also explores why voters in struggling rural communities have moved toward the Republican Party despite those effects, examining partisan ownership of health policy and the shared grievances that rural voters express. Shepherd is an assistant professor at the University of Michigan, with appointments in the School of Public Health and the Department of Political Science; his research has been featured by *The New York Times* and Bloomberg, and he has published op-eds in *Jacobin* and the *Washington Post*. He grew up in rural Kentucky and draws on that background in his work. Marcia Brown covers food and agriculture for POLITICO, with reporting experience spanning federal agencies, Congress, and the courts, and earlier work at The Capitol Forum and *The American Prospect*.
When: Thursday, August 20, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Politics and Prose at 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008.
Tickets: Admission is free with first come, first serve seating, and no ticket price is listed.
Book: *Rural Pain, Republican Gain: How the Republican Party Is Killing Rural America and Why Democrats Are Blamed* by Michael E. Shepherd, published August 20, 2026, in paperback at $25.00, ISBN 9780226851792; available for preorder.
Lineup: Michael E. Shepherd, author, in conversation with Marcia Brown, food and agriculture reporter for POLITICO.
Run time: Not specified.
Ages: Not specified.
Accessibility: To request accommodations or ask about accessibility, email events@politics-prose.com, ideally one week before the event date; organizers will try to accommodate all requests up until the time of the event.